Responding to rumors that he was dead or dying, Mark Twain, 61, was quoted by the "New York Journal" as saying from London that "the report of my death was an exaggeration."

1904:

Johnny Weissmuller, swimmer, actor (Tarzan) born

1917:

Actor-composer Max Showalter born

1924:

Congress granted US citizenship to all American Indians

1926:

Actor Milo O'Shea born

1927:

Phillip Burton born

1937:

Sally Kellerman born

1940:

King Constantine of Greece born

1941:

Stacy Keach, actor (Hammer) born

1941:

Singer William Guest (Gladys Knight & The Pips) born

1941:

Charlie Watts, drummer (Rolling Stones) born

1941:

Baseball's "Iron Horse," Lou Gehrig, died New York of a degenerative disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

1943:

Actor Charles Haid born

1944:

Marvin Hamlisch, pianist, composer born

1946:

The Italian monarchy was abolished favor of a republic

1948:

Jerry "the Beaver" Mathers, actor (Leave it to Beaver) born

1950:

Actress Joanna Gleason born

1953:

Queen Elizabeth the Second of Britawas crowned Westminster Abbey, 16 months after the death of her father, King George the Sixth

1955:

Dana Carvey, comedian, impressionist (Saturday Night Live) born

1955:

Actor Gary Grimes ("Summer of '42") born

1966:

The US space probe "Surveyor One" landed on the moon and began transmitting detailed photographs of the lunar surface

1968:

Singer Merril Bainbridge born

1970:

Rapper B-Real (Cypress Hill) born

1975:

Vice President Nelson Rockefeller said his commission had found no widespread pattern of illegal activities at the Central Intelligence Agency

1978:

Actress Nikki Cox ("Unhappily Ever After") born

1979:

Pope John Paul the Second arrived his native Poland on the first visit by a pope to a Communist country

1980:

Rhythm-and-blues singer Irish Grinstead (702) born

1987:

President Reagan announced he was nominating economist Alan Greenspan to succeed Paul Volcker as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board

1988:

The publishers of "Consumer Reports" magazine called for a ban on the Suzuki "Samurai," a popular sport utility vehicle that the magazine said tended to roll over sudden turns; American Suzuki Motor Corporation defended the vehicle as safe

1989:

President Bush returned from a European trip, calling it "a triumph of hope" for a world moving beyond the Cold War

1990:

On the third day of their Washington summit, President Bush and Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev held informal talks at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland

1990:

Actor Sir Rex Harrison died in New York at age 82

1991:

Pope John Paul the Second, on a pilgrimage to his native Poland, visited the town of Przemysl, less than ten miles from the Soviet border; an estimated 10,000 Ukrainians crossed into Poland to see the pontiff

1991:

"The Will Rogers Follies" won best musical at Broadway's Tony Awards; "Lost in Yonkers" was named best play

1993:

South Africa's Supreme Court upheld Winnie Mandela's conviction for kidnapping four young blacks, but said she would not have to serve any of her five-year prison term

1994:

The International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN atomic watchdog, reported it could no longer verify the status of North Korea's nuclear program, prompting the United States to seek economic sanctions

1995:

A U.S. Air Force F-16C was shot down by a Bosnian Serb surface-to-air missile while on a NATO air patrol in northern Bosnia; the pilot, Captain Scott F. O'Grady, was rescued six days later

1996:

"Rent," "Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk" and "The King and I" dominated the 1996 Tony Awards, each winning four prizes

1997:

Timothy McVeigh was convicted of murder and conspiracy the Oklahoma City bombing

1997:

Conservative President Jacques Chirac of France, forced to share power with Socialists who had routed his party national elections, handed the premiership to former opposition leader Lionel Jospin

1998:

Voters in California passed Proposition 227, which effectively abolished the state's 30-year-old bilingual education program by requiring that all children be taught in English

1998:

Monica Lewinsky hired a new defense team, Jacob Stein and Plato Cacheris, replacing William H. Ginsburg as her lead attorney

1999:

South Africans went to the polls in their second post-apartheid election, giving the African National Congress a decisive victory; retiring President Nelson Mandela was succeeded by Thabo Mbeki

2000:

President Clinton, visiting Germany, was honored with the prestigious International Charlemagne Prize at Aachen Cathedral